Tisbury selectmen this week ordered a Jack Russell terrier to remain leashed and muzzled outside his home because of a complaint that the dog bit a 90-year-old woman.
During a dog bite hearing at the selectmen’s meeting Tuesday, animal control officer Laurie Clements said she received a call on Jan. 26 that Teresa Jaworski, a frequent walker in the Look street neighborhood, had been bitten by a “little Jack Russell terrier that is constantly loose,” Ms. Clements said.
Ms. Clements said she lives on the same street as a dog which is owned by James Wesiman, and said it is “a pain in the neck.” She said she’s written eight leash law tickets for the dog and has quarantined him twice for unprovoked biting.
Mr. Weisman said he apologized for the incident. “It’s unacceptable that this dog has been running free and his behavior has changed in the last year,” he said, adding that the dog has been unsettled by a new dog in the household.
Mr. Weisman said the dog is on “doggie Prozac” and said the dog will not be allowed off the leash on his property or off his property. “I had to change my ways,” he said.
Basia Jaworski read a letter written by her mother that said the dog bite was “a very painful experience.”
“It’s been two months since the dog bite and I’m still not healed,” Mrs. Jaworski wrote, noting that she has had two rounds of antibiotics and a leg infection after the bite and she does not feel safe in her neighborhood or alone in her house. “This dog is vicious and a danger to our community,” she said. “I would like to feel safe again.”
Ms. Clements recommended a double leash, a basket muzzle any time the dog is outside, a requirement for Mr. Weisman to have insurance and a bond.
Tisbury selectmen voted 2-0 to require that the dog should be double- leashed and muzzled in public and Mr. Weisman must post a $200 bond. Selectman Jeffrey Kristal recused himself from the vote.
“It’s a pretty serious bite” selectman Tristan Israel said. “Next time, I hope there is no next time, I’m going to be as Draconian as possible.”
“You have to make every effort to keep this animal restrained and muzzled when not on your property,” selectman Jon Snyder said. “If this does come back to us we will not be very friendly.”
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